India to tap Croatia as gateway to Eastern and Central Europe

New Delhi and Zagreb have enjoyed historically friendly relations but it has not led to greater trade yet. This must be one of the changes on the checklist as India eyes closer ties and allies in the EU.

India’s minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan on December 24 held a virtual meeting with his Croatian counterpart Frano Matusic where efforts to enhance bilateral ties between the two nations was discussed.

Among the many things discussed during the hour long broad-based meeting were ideas for greater cooperation in healthcare, especially in the context of the pandemic and the existing excellent cooperation between the two sides in the area of pharmaceutical industry and healthcare related research and development. Similarly the need for developing a multi-layered digital partnership between the two countries was also raised. This is another area that has opened up scope for greater partnership between nations in the post pandemic world given that businesses are increasingly becoming digital.

The meeting also touched upon India’s two years of non permanent membership at UNSC, which starts from January 2021 where Muraleedharan briefed Matusic on areas that India would prioritise at the UN. As one of the more recent yet active members of the European Union–it joined in 2013, Croatia is a strong advocate of multilateralism and has been supportive of India’s candidature for permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UNSC.

Further, given Croatia’s unique geographical position–it sits at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe on the Adriatic Sea, it offers a unique gateway to continental Europe. Not surprisingly, India which is anyway trying to expand its arc of influence beyond Asia, has been trying to enhance its ties with Croatia for sometime now. In March 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind became the first head of the state to visit Croatia when he led a delegation of businessmen to the country. The two countries ended up signing four agreements–two each on education and tourism and sport.

“India looks forward to greater cooperation with Croatia, both bilaterally and within the architecture of the European Union. The EU is important on a global scale and should be an anchor of global security in a polarized world,” Kovind had said then. “India has strategic partnership with the EU. We are working towards finalizing a pragmatic and balanced India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement. We would seek Croatia’s support for this.”

The two countries have been historic allies as well. Back in the days of Yugoslavia–Croatia was part of it till 1991, India shared friendly relations with Marshal Tito who was himself a Croat and who ruled Yugoslavia for three decades. In the 1970s and 80s, India was a big consumer of Yugoslavian ships and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Tito were pioneers of the Non Aligned Movement in the post World War II period.

Once Croatia became independent however, trade between the two nations has been modest at best. In 2014, bilateral trade stood at just Euro 101.7 million. By 2019, it has grown to a shade less than Euro 150 million with India enjoying a healthy trade surplus but Croatia is not even among the top 10 EU member countries as far as trade is concerned. The overwhelming feeling that it has not fulfilled the potential was reiterated by Kovind during his visit as well.

“India is keen to impart greater economic content to its bilateral relations with Croatia. India-Croatia bilateral trade has doubled over the last decade but it does not reflect the true potential as yet,” he had said. “There are a number of new sectors that hold promise for both sides such as pharma, waste management, infrastructure development, agriculture, biomedical research and start-ups.”

Already, EU as a trading block is India’s largest trading partner but Croatia offers one of the many pockets where there is scope for India to increase its influence further. As one of the gateways to the continent, it could also set a template to be emulated elsewhere in Eastern and Central Europe.